Aranmanai 4

Story:

Aranmanai 4 is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language comedy horror film directed by Sundar C, who co-wrote the film with Venkatt Ragavan and S. B. Ramadass. It is produced by Khushbu Sundar’s Avni Cinemax and A. C. S. Arun Kumar’s Benzz Media (P) Ltd. The film stars Sundar, leading an ensemble cast that includes Tamannaah Bhatia, Raashii Khanna, Ramachandra Raju, Santhosh Prathap, Kovai Sarala, Yogi Babu, VTV Ganesh and Delhi Ganesh in pivotal roles. It is the fourth installment in the Aranmanai film series. Hiphop Tamizha composed the music, while E. Krishnasamy and Fenny Oliver handled the cinematography and editing, respectively.

Aranmanai 4 was theatrically released on 3 May 2024, and received mixed to positive reviews from critics. The film grossed over ₹100 crore at the box office against a budget of ₹30 crore, making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise and one of the highest grossing Tamil films of 2024.

PLOT

In Northeast India, a priest and his daughter travel by boat to a temple during a festival. When the daughter is injured and her blood spills into the river, it releases Baak, a shapeshifting demon. Baak kills the daughter and assumes her form. The priest then traps Baak’s soul in a vessel, forcing it to take his daughter’s place permanently for the sake of his wife. The scene shifts to a village where Selvi and her husband Santhosh live with their children, Shakthi and Saravanan Jr. Selvi’s husband dies of a heart attack in the forest, and Selvi apparently hangs herself in their well. Witnessing her deceased mother, Shakthi falls into a coma. Upon hearing of the deaths, Selvi’s brother Saravanan, an advocate, visits the grieving children along with his aunt. In the village, the zamindar’s granddaughter Maya, a doctor, is assigned to care for Shakthi. Soon, they start experiencing paranormal activities in the house.

Saravanan suspects that his sister Selvi’s death was not a suicide and visits the police station with Ravi, the village president’s son. They are dismissed rudely by the inspector. Ravi then shows Saravanan a video of his late brother-in-law being stalked by a sage before his death. Later, while they are in their jeep, a spirit attacks, and Saravanan steps out to investigate. During this, a spirit looking like Selvi attacks Ravi. Hearing Ravi’s scream, Saravanan returns to find the jeep and Ravi gone, with only the video camera left behind, showing footage of the sage once again. The next morning, Saravanan finds the jeep smashed against a tree with Ravi’s corpse on top. Initially suspected by the police, Saravanan clears his name using the video camera evidence. The police, now convinced, help Saravanan search for the sage’s lair, where they find photographs of all the recent victims Selvi, Santhosh, Ravi and Shakthi. Convinced of the sage’s guilt, the inspector orders his capture.

Saravanan finds out that Shakthi, the inspector, and the late Ravi all share the same birthdate. He confirms with Maya that all three also have a red mole in common and tells her to protect the children. Saravanan confronts the sage to save the inspector. Meanwhile, the Northeast Indian priest arrives at Saravanan’s home, claiming he is looking for his missing daughter. He tries to approach Shakthi but is expelled by Selvi’s spirit. Concurrently, the inspector dies after being impaled by a vel, and Shakthi wakes up from her coma, accompanied by Selvi’s spirit. During interrogation, the sage reveals that Baak, an evil spirit capable of living in water and on land, had its soul trapped by the priest, diminishing its power. Baak followed the villagers when they relocated to the village, eventually recovering its hidden soul. To regain full strength, Baak aims to sacrifice Shakthi, the inspector, and Ravi. Baak killed Selvi’s husband and took his form to approach Shakthi. Selvi, however, sacrificed herself to protect her children and returned as a spirit to guard them against Baak. The sage warns Saravanan to protect Shakthi at all costs to prevent Baak from becoming immortal.

Saravanan confides in his aunt about his regrets for not supporting her. Meanwhile, Baak attacks the police station, causing injuries, but the sage manages to drive it away. During this chaos, Maya is stopped by Selvi’s spirit at the compound gate while trying to attend Shakthi’s birthday party. Saravanan notices a blood stain on Maya’s lab coat that Selvi’s spirit appears to point at. Upon testing the blood in the lab, they discover that Baak has been impersonating the sage. After confronting the president, they find the sage’s dead body in the trunk of the president’s car. The president reveals that the sage had gone to the graveyard to destroy Selvi’s spirit and her remains. Saravanan arrives too late, witnessing his sister’s spirit disappear while pleading for Shakthi’s safety. Baak then reappears to claim Shakthi, but Maya flees with her to the temple festival. There, Saravanan battles Baak inside a large Asura sculpture. At the festival’s climax, a divine spirit destroys both the sculpture and Baak.

With the turmoil resolved, Saravanan assures Maya that the palace will be converted into a hospital for her to continue serving the village. Outside, the children play throwball with their mother’s spirit, showing that she continues to watch over them.